UN steps in to Okara farmers’ rescue

Taking note of the events, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello asked the Pakistan Government, over a month ago, to furnish details on the situation. ‘‘I would also request… that the authorities take such steps as are required to assure the security, safety and human rights of the tenants in Okara Farms, Pakistan,’’ wrote de Mello.

In fact, the UN High Commissioner’s intervention comes after UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Asma Jehangir expressed ‘‘grave concern’’ over the dangerous situation in the ‘‘military-controlled farms in Okara, Pakistan’’.

Jehangir had specifically cited reports that on May 11 a group of Pakistani Rangers, which is directly under the control of Pakistan Army, shot at a crowd demonstrating against the use of ‘‘excessive force’’ on previous occasions. A farmer, Amir Ali, of Chak 5-A/4L was killed in the indiscriminate shootout, the Rapporteur observed.

Jehangir’s office, which is in touch with the Pakistan Government on the issue, has been voicing concern over the violation of human rights since a farmer was killed by the Rangers on August 26, 2002.

Pressure began to mount on the Pakistan Government as the military, in particular, found itself in the dock for management of farms under its control. The military’s control over Pakistan’s economic assets— apparently it works out to 3 per cent of the GDP— soon came under the sharp gaze of human rights activists who have now pitched camp at Okara. The Pakistan Government finally banked on democratic institutions to bail it out. A three-member team of the Parliamentarian’s Commission of Human Rights was despatched on a fact-finding mission towards June-end.

While the report shows there was nothing illegal about the contract, the team could not ignore what it saw. Its observations , published in the Pakistan Observer today, record the high-handedness shown by Pakistani Rangers in some of the villages.